Is The ‘Norton Electra’ Going To Be A Royal Enfield Flying Flea Rival?

There is much anticipation for how TVS will be writing the next chapter of Norton Motorcycles’ legacy. After all, this legendary British marque that has been through so many trials and tribulations, finally seems to have found a custodian that is stable enough to see it become a dominant name once again. And while TVS top boss Sudarshan Venu has stated that there will be platform sharing with BMW, TVS and Norton with the 450 cc twin-cylinder engine, Norton would also likely go electric.

A new trademark filed by Norton has surfaced: Norton Electra. And while one would be inclined to think that it would be for a roadster, perhaps reading more into the description of the filing gives us a better hint. The description states that it is primarily going to be for a vehicle with majority of the caveats being a speed restriction of 65 mph, or roughly 105 kmph. If it were a roadster with the 450 cc parallel-twin engine, having a top speed of just 105 kmph would be shockingly low.

Hence, logic would dictate that TVS might be working on an electric bike, something to rival the Royal Enfield Flying Flea C6. Given that the electric motorcycle market is thus far relatively untapped, it would be wise for TVS to cash in with the Norton as a premium offering. And it will also pay dividends for it as a global player with European and other developed markets being better equipped for such products. 

TVS already has a very solid electric base that is ready for modularity, the same one that is used for the TVS X as well as the BMW CE 02. Hence a solid electric commuter motorcycle with a healthy range and enticing performance could be the way for the Norton Electra to take shape.

However, Royal Enfield also sold an Electra in the past, the Bullet Electra. It was rumoured that Royal Enfield could use the Electra name for its first EV offering before the Flying Flea was selected. Since both companies have filed for trademarks and Royal Enfield already has an approved name, can Norton go ahead with the Electra or not will be an interesting development. We have seen a similar sort of confusion when Bajaj used the Freedom name for its CNG bike, despite the fact that the LML Freedom was on sale many years back. 

We would hear more developments from Norton on its future products at EICMA 2025 as Sudarshan Venu has promised a lot of new bikes to be shown in Milan. Whether it takes the electric bike shape or the Electra harks back to tradition and becomes a roadster should be known then.